AFIII Suhr Badger 30 - Tube vs. Fractal Shootout

M

Matthew Shoquist

Member
I recently acquired an older Suhr Badger 30 in a trade, and decided to do a quick shootout between the real amp and the model. The real tube Badger is running into a Fryette Powerstation 2 acting as the load box with the "edge" switch enabled into the Axe FX for cabinet modeling and reverb. The model is using the "Fractal Load Box LB-2 UK" impedance model with some of the HF and LF frequency tweaked using the same cabinet and reverb. My goal was to match the tones to be as close as possible without using the Tone Match block. Please note that my method of matching the amps was limited. I do not have an A/B switcher, so all of this was manual plugging/unplugging my guitar cable into each unit. Both demos are with the guitar straight into either the Fractal, or straight into the Badger- no 4 cable method was used for this demo. Based on the limitation of my equipment, and the lack of "rapid switching" ability between the amp and the model (due to equipment), I did the best I could. There are differing tolerances between tube amps combined with a lack of consistency between the impedance curve (Fryette vs modeled 1x12). With that said, I think the test still holds weight with how hard the Fractal punches being $2,250 brand new vs. $1,999 brand new for just one amp.

Thanks to ML Sound Labs for the inspiration for the first clip- this was a guitar lick he posted a while back demoing what I believe was a JCM800 model with a split coil guitar. The second clip should be pretty familiar to most guitar players.

Both "amps" are running through a mix of the York Audio Matchless IR "BLND Mix 2" and "BLND Mix 8" panned hard left and hard right.

Tube vs. Fractal Audio - Badger 30 Shootout
 
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2nd one sounded a little harsh in the treble to my ear in the opening arpeggiated riff. Definitely like the first one better.
 
Thank you. The Badger is one of my fav's although I use it mainly for clean or slightly edgy tones - wouldn't have thought of using for ACDC.
I have cast my vote but real interested in the result - both sound awesome!!
 
I preferred clip 1. It has less low-mids and sounds overall more open and clear. Both sound good and in a mix you'd need golden ears to tell them apart.
 
I can't listen to the example right now but I owned a Badger 30 for about 10 years and the model in my FM9 is super close.
 
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